Pennsylvania State University

I regret going to Penn State. I've had nothing but problems with this school since I had started going here. I've attended three of their campuses including University Park and can say that If I could do it all over again I would have avoided this school.

The first Penn state campus that I attended was in Altoona. This was probably the worst campus for student life and quality of education. The town is depressed and the locals do not appreciate the fact that the students are the only thing that keeps their sad little economy alive. The police harass and abuse the students, both verbally and even physically on a few occasions that I've personally witnessed. There is nothing to do in Altoona and the campus doesn't offer much. The facilities and classrooms are old and could use some updates. The professors weren't very good at teaching and I felt like I was in high school again. I decided to stay here for a third year instead of transferring to the main campus so that I could work as an RA and save money. The police still disrespected me even when I tried to help them as an RA, so I decided to leave this campus for good.

I decided to transfer to Penn State Abington, which was close to my home. My adviser in Altoona told me that I could transfer to the Abington campus and finish my degree there which is what I had planned to do. But, after I transferred and met with an adviser at Abington I was told that I could NOT finish my degree at that campus! They don't even offer the same classes or degree program, but the adviser from Altoona told me that I could finish my degree here. I wasted one semester at the Abington campus, and decided to transfer to the main campus. There I would be able to finish my original degree that I had started instead of starting a new one at Abington.

I transferred to Penn State University Park and thought that my troubles were finally over. I was wrong. Apparently, they have a "competency requirement" where you are required to take 24 credits worth of classes at the campus that you plan to graduate from. I only needed 12 credits to finish my degree, but they won't let me graduate until I take an extra 12 credits to fulfill this requirement. At this point I just wanted my degree, so I agreed and didn't argue with them. I got through one semester, but during the second (extra) semester numerous problems in my personal life all hit me at once.

I had to go home and deal with these problems. I saw that they have an online course system called "World Campus" which is supposed to allow people to take classes on their computers from home. I looked at their web site and was excited to see that they offered the exact same degree programs that the main campus did! I called my adviser and asked if I could finish my last few classes online because they have the exact same degree program and classes as University Park.

She said that I would have to start the competency requirement all over again since it's a "different" campus! Unbelievable! I called the department office to ask them to make an exception because my my situation. They said they would call me back with an answer the next day. A week went by and I called again, only to reach an answering machine. I spent several weeks trying to reach them again but I always got either an answering machine or a secretary that said they were not in and would give them my message.

After ignoring me for several weeks, they finally decided to let me finish my last few classes online. I transferred to World Campus, and was greeted with an email from them saying that I have to take extra classes to fulfill the 24 credit competency requirement...

IN SUMMARY:
I'm sick of playing this game. If all of these campuses are Penn State then why can't I just get my degree from any of them? Why is the head of the department avoiding me? Because all they care about is money, not the students. They will do anything to keep you from graduating and make you go for another semester. Save yourself the headaches and go somewhere else!

5th Year Male -- Class 2012

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Education Quality: F

If you are a suburban white kid from "Outside Philly" who plans on either going Greek or staying in your high school clique and only focusing on partying than this is definitely the place for you. If not, than I'd look somewhere else. I'm very extroverted/sociable yet most of the people here aren't looking for new friends. Also, a lot of the students can only talk about partying. I like going out on weekends, but I also like having meaningful conversations with people, which rarely happens here. The academics here are very good but that doesn't make up for the people you are stuck here with. In conclusion, when picking a college make sure that you like the people there, because at a place like this you will be stuck with them in the middle of nowhere for four years.

1st Year Male -- Class 2019

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, Friendliness: F

Penn State is for a certain type of person. If you are ambitious, highly focused in academics, introverted, and don't drink, this is not the place for you. Penn State is for people who want to drink, party, major in something easy, and have fun. Since the school is so big, nothing is handed to you. You need to be extroverted, proactive, and get involved in order to make friends and find a group. In addition, groups form fast so start all of this early, or else you'll be stuck in a school with 40,000 kids and no friends.

Academics are decent. I'm pre-med and have found that the department is pretty good, very resourceful, and wants to send its students to medical school. If you take action, there are many opportunities to get involved in research, teaching, volunteerism, and clubs. Most of my classes have been 100+ students, but if you sit up front and make an effort then the professors will usually be very approachable and get to know you. Some professors are highly absorbed in their research and put very little effort into teaching, but this is common at big research universities. Perhaps the most troubling thing i've encountered has been the lack of standardization in some courses. Some courses can be incredibly difficult with one professor, but then easy with another. In addition, the format and material taught may be totally different.

Grades are pretty competitive, and most students value working the system to get a good grade above actually learning the material. However, I don't feel that the student body is too intelligent (generally), so if you're pretty smart then you can easily shine. Grades are only curved if the average grade in the class falls below a C+. In this case, it's curved so that the average is a C+. Some professors will curve to a B+. I think there is big grade deflation early on, in the big weed out courses such as intro chemistry, calculus, and biology. Then grade inflation later on in the upper level courses. I'm not a fan of grade inflation, because it dilutes the achievement of the super smart. Penn State really needs to implement an A+ grade, being worth the same as an A on a 4.0 scale, but just for the distinction.

4th Year Male -- Class 2017

University Resource Use/ spending: A+, Individual Value: D+